


Unleashed

by LoneLand



Category: Maximum Ride - James Patterson, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Laboratory, Alternate Universe - Wings, Dabi and Todoroki Shouto Are Siblings, Dabi is Todoroki Touya, Female Todoroki Shouto, Human Experimentation, Laboratories, Multi, Rating May Change, Todoroki doesn't speak, Wings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-14 01:01:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28537776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoneLand/pseuds/LoneLand
Summary: Shouko's bare feet made little sound as she crept down the hallway. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to escape. Somehow. Any way she could. Even if she had to walk the labyrinth of hallways all night, she had to find an exit before one of the night time security guards found out she'd left her room. Shouko hadn't seen the outside in years. Not even through a window, since she was underground along with all the other human experiments.(Having read Maximum Ride is not necessary to enjoy this fic. It's just the premise I've stolen, which is human avian hybrids. Hawks will show up eventually, if all goes according to plan.)
Relationships: Dabi & Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko, Dabi & Todoroki Shouto, Dabi & Toga Himiko, Eri & Todoroki Shouto, Other Relationship Tags to Be Added, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko & Todoroki Shouto, Shigaraki Tomura | Shimura Tenko & Toga Himiko, Todoroki Shouto & Toga Himiko
Comments: 17
Kudos: 43





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Enjoy! Yes, I posted this a few days ago or yesterday (not sure which) but I had to take it down for edits... Hope this version is better!

Shouko's bare feet made little sound as she crept down the hallway. She had no idea where she was going, but she had to escape. Somehow. Any way she could. Even if she had to walk the labyrinth of hallways all night, she had to find an exit before one of the night time security guards found out she'd left her room. Shouko hadn't seen the outside in years. Not even through a window, since she was underground along with all the other human experiments.

As Shouko spotted the stairwell, she breathed a sigh of relief. She was close. And so far, no security guards hunting her down. She reached into the pocket of her white hospital clothes, and took out the keycard she'd stolen from a scientist that afternoon. She hadn't planned to escape until she'd spotted the card laying out on the table, but the moment she'd stolen it, she knew she was running on limited time.

Shouko unlocked the door, and entered the stairwell. Though she was about to close the door, she decided against it. If someone else managed to get out of their cell, she didn't want to stop them from escaping too. As unlikely as that was.

The echo was louder on the stairs, and Shouko tried to slow her footsteps, make her movements more careful. That was when she heard the bang of a door flying open heavy footsteps slowly ascending. She stilled, one foot on the step above, and listened while holding her breath. As they got closer, she could hear the person breathing, heavy and ragged. The hair rose on the back of her neck as she tried to figure out if she should run, or go down to meet them. If it was a scientist, or a security guard, she would regret even stalling this much. But from the way they moved... Something told her this was probably another experiment.

Shouko turned, and began to slowly make her way down the stairs, staying close to the wall. If it was another experiment, they could escape together. And their odds of survival outside would increase if they weren't alone. Shouko barely remembered what fresh, unsterilized air smelled like, or what it was like to have the sun on her skin. But somewhere, in the back of her mind, she could a little. The few days in her childhood where her father would bring her outside, and show her the sky. He'd tell her one day, she'd be able to fly with those small, still fluffy wings.

But that day had never come. Shouko knew she should've seen it coming. Her father's kindness had never been a given, it only came when she behaved exactly as he liked. Rewards were given when she was docile and obedient, and punishments... Punishments happened whenever she wasn't. But living her life in a cell, isolated from people other than the scientists experimenting on her, was pretty close to a punishment in her book. The only problem with that assessment was that every experiment lived in a cell. It was a given, not something they could change with acting like the perfect little pets the scientists wanted.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped, as soon as Shouko was about a flight away from meeting whoever was there. Whoever it was, they were just around the corner at the bottom of the flight of stairs. Shouko hesitated, but then pressed on.

"Is someone there...?" A hoarse voice spoke, one that was oddly familiar... Someone she barely remembered, but...

Shouko didn't say anything and raced forward, her hands almost shaking.

The footsteps continued, and seconds later, a figure stepped around the corner. In the dim fluorescent light, Shouko saw a man standing there. Even without much light, she could see the purple scars covering his arms, chest, and lower jaw. His white hair stuck up in messy spikes, but was clean. His hospital clothes were clean, as were everyone's, but they seemed to hang loosely on his frail looking body.

"So you escaped too..." His voice was quieter as his turquoise eyes met her own. Shouko felt her breath catch in her throat. She could faintly smell burning flesh.

Shouko stared back at him. She had no love for her father, who ran the facility. She and all of her siblings had been his test subjects, their DNA altered with grafts from other species, and altered in other ways Shouko didn't understand. All of her siblings had died because of the tests they were put through. Except Touya, she now saw. She thought he had died too. Died first, years ago when she was six. But he was here, despite the burn scars, she knew he was there, standing alive in front of her.

Shouko stepped towards him, unsure what even to do. It had been ten years. She hadn't bee around him before that much either, either. She wasn't allowed to be around to the 'failures' as their father called many of the other experiments. All of her siblings had been included in that.

"No time for mushy reunions," Touya said, reaching and taking her hand. Shouko tensed, but didn't pull away. She looked down at their hands, but Touya snapped her attention back to him, "I've got some friends I need to bust out. Wanna help me-..." He spotted the key card in her free hand, and snatched it, "Oh you stole Chisaki's card. This makes things much easier."

Shouko blinked, and tilted her head to the side.

"I had to burn my way through the lock," Touya said, "This can get us anywhere without the trouble. I planned to steal one from a guard, but now..."

Shouko nodded, and squeezed his hand. Touya then began to lead her down the stairs. As they sank lower into the facility, Shouko felt the hair on the back of her neck rise. She'd meant to get _out_ , not get further into the facility. But the more people they could get out with them, the better. And if Touya was with her, then they could probably take down a guard. Even if they were to pull out a tranq dart, a guard could only aim for one at a time. Shouko was pretty sure she could carry Touya if she had to.

They reached the door that Touya had melted the lock on several floors down. Shouko saw the number beside the door: Level Nine.

She felt a chill go down her spine. This was where they kept the dangerous ones. At the bottom of the facility. She looked towards her brother, and noted the scars once more. His 'quirk', a power seemingly unexplained by the genetic experimentation... The blue flames that were too hot for his body... Was that what made him dangerous? Could it be that alone?

Something told her that was wishful thinking. But at the same time, people were usually sent there for attacking scientists, so he probably wasn't about to hurt her. She hoped, anyway. Some down here... She knew they had attacked other hybrids. She'd heard rumors. She hoped they were exaggerated by scientists trying to scare her.

As they walked down the hall, Shouko kept on the look out for guards. She tried to make her footsteps as quiet as possible as they crept through the halls. She listened, careful, until Touya stopped in front one of the cell doors. She found herself unintentionally getting a little closer to Touya as he unlocked the door.

"Hey, whackjob, get your scalpels and get out," He said, just loud enough for whoever was in to hear. Girlish giggling was heard inside, and Shouko peeked in. Inside the room was a girl with shoulder length blonde hair, who was fishing a number of sharp objects out of unlikely places. Stolen scalpels, plastic knives, toothbrushes that had their ends sharped, even a kitchen knife... _How had she gotten_ that? All of them were placed in a satchel that had been hidden under a grate.

"Hey, Dabi~" The girl smiled brightly, "Oh? Is that... She's so cute!" The blonde girl nearly squealed, and Shouko shifted uncomfortably, "Hi~ I'm Himiko. You're Dabi's baby sister, right? Todoroki Shouko?"

Shouko hesitated, but nodded. Touya rolled his eyes and sighed. Why had Toga called him 'Dabi'? Was it some kind of nickname?

"Awww, adorable!" She actually squealed that time and Dabi put a hand over her mouth.

"Hey, shut it, whackjob. You'll draw attention to us!" He snapped, quiet as he could. His tone seemed a lot harsher than earlier, when he'd only been speaking to Shouko.

Toga pushed his hand away and huffed. She looked between the two of them.

"So... We just gotta get Shiggy, then leave, right?" Toga asked, "Anyone else?"

"Anyone else alive?" Touya asked sarcastically. Toga frowned, and almost glared at him, but said nothing in response. She got quiet after that, like she'd been hoping that perhaps their other friends were actually alive. Touya squeezed Shouko's hand and began to head down the hall again, gesturing for Toga to follow. Toga hummed lightly as they walked, and Touya sent her glares on occasion. It didn't stop her. Shouko was having trouble listening for footsteps, and she strained her ears to do so.

They traveled the labyrinth, taking several turns, until they reached a hall with a security door on it. Dabi used the keycard, and they passed through. The hall was long and had no lights within it. There were no other doors in sight.

"Can you give us a light?" Touya asked Shouko. Shouko looked at him, then down at her left hand. She then raised it, and ignited a small flame in her palm, enough for them to see down the hall.

The three of them began walking again, down the dark hall, until they reached another locked door. Dabi didn't even hesitate to unlock the door, though Shouko couldn't help a strange feeling of foreboding. Someone behind this door was dangerous. Someone they needed to keep locked up. Shouko tried to assure herself they only attacked scientists. Only the people who experimented on them. Not the other people who were locked up.

The door opened, and they peered inside. The room was like any other cell, empty aside from a mess of blankets for a bed and the figure slumped within them. Messy pale hair hung over their face. However, they looked up, and though she could barely see, Shouko was pretty sure there was something off about their face. They looked almost like a corpse in the flickering light of her flame.

"What're you doing here?" A raspy, shaky male voice spoke from the corner.

"We're busting out, what else?" Dabi said, "Now get up before someone finds us."

Suddenly, a death gurgle of someone's throat being slit sounded from several feet behind them. Dabi and Shouko quickly looked, to see Toga standing over a dying guard, a scalpel in her hand. She looked back at them and smiled like this was no big deal. Beside the guard lay a tranq gun, which had fallen from his hands. Shouko couldn't take her eyes away from him. Though she knew it was too soft, she wondered if he really had to die.

But in the end, it was her or them, wasn't it?

No... She didn't like that idea. But she knew deep down that it would be hard to escape a guard without killing them. Unless she could incapacitate them first...

Footsteps sounded in the cell as the boy crossed the room. Shouko looked towards him again, and recognized the cuffs on his wrists. Quick cancelling cuffs, for people who couldn't be controlled. Dabi reached out as soon as the stranger neared, and used the keycard to unlock both cuffs. The metal clanged on the floor as it fell, and the strange boy rubbed his wrists. Shouko caught a look at his face, covered in scars and scratch marks old and new. He reached out, and touched the door with all five fingers. It disintegrated almost instantly.

_Oh._

"Well, what're we waiting for? Let's get the others and see if we can't kill a few guards on the way out," The boy said. Shouko narrowed her eyes slightly, "Got something to say, pipsqueak?" He glared at her.

Shouko said nothing, but stared right back.

"We can't. They're dead, Shigaraki," Touya said. His voice was no softer than when speaking with Toga, but somehow more solemn.

Shigaraki frowned, but said nothing and shook his head. He pushed passed them, and walked towards Toga and the now dead guard. He began to search the body. Toga was cleaning her scalpel on the guard's clothes, and humming again. Shouko looked up at Touya. He didn't seem bothered at all by the deaths. Shouko wondered if it was something with her. She had been kept in a cell too, threatened by those same guards, kicked around by them when the scientists had their backs turned... But somehow, killing still felt wrong.

"Let's get going," Shigaraki said, standing up as he pocketed the guard's wallet and after he'd disintegrated the tranq gun.

Touya squeezed Shouko's hand and they began to walk back down the hall, using her flames to see. However, as they returned to the halls with fluorescent lights, weak sobbing could be heard. Shouko glanced up at Touya, before letting go of his hand and running in the direction of the crying. She let her flames go out.

"Hey, don't run off, idiot!" She heard Shigaraki call from down the corridor. She ignored him, and turned the corner, where she spotted a small child's form at the end of the hallway. Long gray hair covered the child's face, a number of bandages were on their arms and legs, and Shouko approached carefully. She tapped on the wall to get the child's attention when she was a few feet away.

"Um..!" The child looked up, and Shouko realized she was a girl. She seemed terrified, and shrank away from Shouko. Shouko tilted her head, but remained where she was, "Wh-who are you...?" The girl whispered, tilting her head to try looking behind Shouko. Shouko raised her hand, and signed her name. The little girl blinked, and seemed confused. Shouko decided to try something else. She pointed to herself, then put her finger to her lips.

"You... Can't talk?"

Shouko nodded. She took a step forward, and held out her hand. Behind her, she heard several pairs of hurried footsteps. Likely the others. However, the little girl cried out in fear, and Shouko turned. Three guards were headed towards them, two of them loading tranq darts into their weapons. Shouko acted on instinct, and from her right side spread ice. She pushed it out faster than she ever had before, and it trapped the guards feet on the ground. Shouko felt shivers go through her, one from the cold, and one because she knew what happened if she attacked guards. Pain. But it didn't matter, they were already escaping. However, before she could freeze their arms, a dart was fired, and Shouko didn't have time to react. It pierced into her shoulder, causing her to suck in breath in pain, and Shouko knew the sedative would spread within minutes. She willed the ice to spread faster, and another dart was fired, but it hit the wall just as she managed to freeze their arms.

Once she was sure the guards were incapacitated, Shouko plucked the dart out out, ignoring the pinch and the trickle of blood that began to stain her shirt. She examined the dart. There was still some of the sedative left inside. She was starting to feel dizzy, but she had time before she fell unconscious. She looked towards the guards. They seemed... Afraid, now that they were trapped. Shouko looked towards the girl behind her. She was trembling all over, looked like she was about to cry. Shouko then heard more footsteps approaching.

Shouko gestured for the girl to follow her, and began to walk towards the guards. The ice was cold beneath her feet, but she did her best not to slip. She could get around the guards, and she hoped the girl wouldn't be too afraid to get close. However, the girl followed her, careful on the ice.

"You aren't gonna escape, you know," One of the guards said as Shouko and the girl passed them, "Unless you can run up the stairs in the next two minutes."

The little girl took Shouko's hand, and Shouko squeezed hers in return. Shouko would've picked her up, but she was getting more dizzy. She Touya turning the corner, the other two behind him. Shigaraki didn't look happy.

Shouko held up the dart, gestured to the bloody spot on her shirt, then nodded at the girl beside her.

"We don't need a stupid kid weighing us down," Shigaraki narrowed his eyes.

"She can't be more than thirty five pounds," Touya said, crossing the space between them, "Besides, nobody's asking you of all people to carry her."

"You don't know what you're doing!" The guard shouted, though he was frozen to his head facing away, "You let out Shigaraki, you idiot girl!"

"Spare me," Shigaraki huffed, then walked past Shouko and the girl, "The only reason she's an idiot... Is that she let you live."

Shouko turned and grabbed his shoulder, though even she knew her grip was weak. She shook her head. The world was starting to spin.

"Back off, pipsqueak," Shigaraki easily threw off her hand. Shouko narrowed her eyes, and stepped forward shakily.

"Shouko, back down," Touya suddenly said, going up to her and putting his hands on her shoulders, "These guys shouldn't be allowed to live. You know what they're doing, don't bother protecting them."

Shouko looked up, her expression almost shocked. Or... As shocked as it could appear on her face. However, her vision had begun to shift in and out of focus. She leaned into Touya, unable to stand upright.

"It's going to be okay," Touya said, supporting her weight. As Shigaraki approached the frozen men, Touya tilted Shouko's head away. Not that it mattered, she was out cold before she could hear the little girl cry again.


	2. Chapter 2

When Shouko began to surface, she felt something warm pressed against the front of her body. She soon realized someone was carrying her on their back, up the stairs of the facility. As she opened her eyes, she realized it was Touya. She probably hadn't been out long, not much longer than a few minutes. She raised her head and glanced around. Though Shouko was still dizzy, she could see Shigaraki, Toga, and the little girl climbing the stairs with them. Shouko fidgeted some, and tapped Touya's arm to let him know she was awake.

"We're nearly at the top," Touya said, glancing to the side to look at her before turning to look ahead again.

"Are you... Um... Okay?" The little girl spoke up. She'd been walking beside them, and her wide red eyes betraying her concern. Shouko gave her a thumbs up, ignoring the dull ache in her head that always came after being sedated like that. It hadn't happened too many times, Shouko had learned to keep her head down after a few outbursts. Sedation was only the first step taken after outbursts or dangerous disobedience. The only disobedience she could do without punishment was glaring, and it did very little to make things better.

"We don't need deadweight," Shigaraki said from up ahead as they neared the second floor, "Thought you understood that, Dabi."

"Once she's recovered, Shouko'll be fine."

"The toddler's gonna be more useful than someone who's too much of a wuss to get rid of people who'd kill us in the blink of an eye," Shigaraki said, "At least Eri's got a powerful quirk."

"..." The girl, Eri, seemed to flinch at that. She got a little closer to Touya and Shouko.

"Well... I think we should keep her around. She froze those guys pretty good," Toga said, "And she's Dabi's baby sister, so we have to keep her around."

"She's sixteen, whackjob," Touya sighed.

"Whatever, but you wanna keep her around, right? She's family," Toga pressed.

"No shit."

"Blood doesn't mean squat to me," Shigaraki turned and glared at them, "And it shouldn't to _you_ , Dabi. Or her, for that matter."

He was talking about their father, wasn't he? Shouko narrowed her eyes, but then glanced away. She raised her hand, and flipped him off.

Shigaraki huffed, but kept walking, mumbling something about, "Useless pipsqueak," Under his breath. Nobody argued the issue further for the time being. Shouko tried to make it as easy as she could on Touya to carry her. She looked down at Eri, who was fidgeting with the hem of her own shirt. Shouko wasn't sure how best to comfort her, the girl kept glancing back, like she expected to see more guards chasing them... Or worse. All of them knew that there were worse. But unless the scientists or the specialized handlers were there, 'worse' wouldn't be coming after them. Hopefully.

They reached the second floor, and Shouko tapped Dabi's shoulder. As he looked towards her, she nodded at the floor. She didn't feel too dizzy to walk. Dabi easily let her slide off his back, and Shouko began to walk between him and Eri. Despite the headache, Shouko didn't want to be carried the whole way. If she could walk, she would. She looked down at Eri, and reached to hold her small hand.

Shouko squeezed Eri's hand, trying to reassure her. The girl couldn't be more than six or seven years old. But Shouko had no idea what she'd been doing on the floor that contained all the dangerous subjects. Had she escaped somewhere else and run there? That seemed most likely, but why run down stairs? Everyone knew the facility was underground...

Or maybe, her quirk was too dangerous. Shoko looked down, and among the bandages, she spotted quirk cancelling cuffs. Shouko tapped the back of Eri's hand, then gestured to the cuffs, before tilting her head.

"Um..." Eri hesitated, and glanced away, "They're... To keep me from hurting people."

Shouko frowned. She looked towards Touya, about to take the card, but Eri seemed to know what she was going to do.

"No don't! I need them," Eri said, her voice quiet despite the panic there, "My quirk is... Not safe..." Shouko blinked, but then decided not to press the issue. The cuffs looked like metal bracelets, and Shouko hoped there wasn't a tracker. She was pretty sure there wasn't. Nobody expected the dangerous ones to ever be able to leave.

Shouko squeezed her hand again. Maybe once they were free of this place, she'd feel less afraid. Shouko kept close to her, and as the reached the top floor, Touya used the stolen card to open the door. As Eri saw the photograph on the card, her eyes widened.

"You..."

"Shouko stole it," Touya said, "I can't believe that son of a bitch left it laying around."

"Dabi, don't swear in front of the child!" Toga said, though she giggled.

"He's gonna hurt us..." Eri said, getting closer to Shouko, "When he finds out-"

"We'll be long gone when Chisaki finds out," Shigaraki spoke up, disintegrating the already open door, before passing through the doorway, "Stop freaking out, let's go."

They followed after, though Eri was almost clinging to Shouko. If she hadn't just been sedated, Shouko would have picked her up. Instead, Shouko just continued to hold her hand, and try to comfort her. Even though Shouko knew she sucked at this sort of thing, she wasn't just going to give the kid the cold shoulder. Eri was just a kid. She'd lived in a cell all alone, and was tortured like everyone else. Nobody deserved it, and Eri definitely didn't.

The room they were in looked like a basement full of odds and ends. Filing cabinets and old or unused equipment was scattered about the room. Shouko glanced back, and realized the door was probably hidden normally There were hooks for a tapestry or something above the door, and a few scraps of fabric still decaying to dust on the ground. They five of them walked across the room, and up the stairs where they were met with a door. It was locked, and there was no place to scan a key card.

Luckily, all Shigaraki had to do was touch it for them to be able to walk through into the facade that the facility tried to hide behind. An astronomy observatory. Far in the middle of nowhere in the prefecture, where people couldn't come looking around. The five of them crept quietly as they could through the facility, until they reached the door.

Shouko was pretty sure she could hear hear her own heart beat. The wings folded against her back twitched. Would she even be able to fly? She still didn't feel great, but something about flying... Something she'd only done with a lead tethered to one of her ankles or in her dreams... She wanted to fly away from this place on her own wings.

They crossed the floor, and Sigaraki disintegrated the door without a second thought. Shouko could see very little outside the door, it was dark. She looked between Eri and Touya before stepping out into the cool night air.

Shouko breathed deeply the fresh air, and looked up. It was a cloudy night, perhaps that was why nobody had been in the observatory. She looked down at Eri, her expression softened. Eri was looking around with a look of wonder on her face. Had she never been outside? Shouko realized didn't even know if she was an avian human hybrid like them. Even if she was, what if she couldn't fly yet? What if they'd never taken her out to teach her.

"Are we gonna fly?" Eri asked suddenly, looking up at the older kids.

"What else?" Though the slits in the back of his shirt, Shigaraki's dust gray wings unfolded and he stretched them, "It's not like we can hitchhike."

"Hitchhike?" Eri tilted her head, though her eyes were on his wings. She didn't get close to him, though.

"It means trying to get into a car with a stranger and hope they don't stab you," Shigaraki explained.

"... I've never flown before," Eri admitted.

"Here, I'll carry you," Toga said with a smile. She walked over, and once she got a nod from Eri, she picked her up in her arms. Toga unfolded her ochre wings, "And... Once we're far away from here, I can teach you how to fly."

"How long has it been?" Touya asked. As he and Shouko unfolded their wings, she noticed the black of his wings stood in stark contrast to the color of hers. Despite her hair and eyes, Shouko's wings were both the same white.

"Not too long, only seven years," Toga grinned, before she took off, holding Eri in her arms. Shigaraki was in the air after her, and Touya and Shouko quickly followed suit.

As soon as she was in the air, Shouko felt chills rush through her. She was _flying_. Not only that, she was flying away from hell, never to return. Though her head hurt, she was able to keep pace with the others. She wasn't sure they were flying very fast, though. Shigaraki had taken the lead, and she, Toga, and Dabi followed him. Shouko got the feeling that he had some sort of standing within the group. Maybe not a leader, since they had only just escaped the lab, but something similar.

The wind rushed through Shouko's hair and feathers. She took deep breaths, taking in the fresh air, and hoped she'd never wake up from this dream. She didn't want it to be a dream. She felt almost dizzy, and she was pretty sure it wasn't from being sedated. It felt more like a good kind of dizzy, if that was possible.

No, it was definitely possible.

* * *

When they finally landed, all of them were out of breath except for Eri. They breathed heavily as they landed in the woods near a mountain top village. It was early morning, and the sun was yet to rise. But they could still see in the half light. Shouko took a seat on a nearby rock as she caught her breath, and watched as Toga set Eri down. Toga smiled, and it seemed softer and less manic than when she'd been in the lab. Eri seemed pretty tired, likely from being up all night. Shouko's headache had continued, but not gotten worse.

"We need a place to sleep," Toga said, "Not here, though. I don't wanna get hypothermia."

"Unless you have any bright ideas, it's gonna be in the woods," Shigaraki said.

"Can we at least have blankets?"

"And where would we even get blankets?" Shigaraki asked, eyes narrowed.

"We could probably steal some," Touya said, "I saw a few inns nearby."

"Great idea! I'll go get some."

Shouko tilted her head. Maybe Toga was more stealthy than she'd thought. Either way, some blankets to sleep on would be nice.

"Be careful," Touya said, though his tone wasn't all that soft. He sighed, then glanced around, "We'll set up camp. Shouko, you know how to build a fire?"

Shouko blinked. She knew how to use her quirk, but... He probably meant with sticks and stuff. She shook her head. They hadn't taught her how to survive in the woods at the lab. They hadn't taught her much of anything that would help her live outside a lab. Sure, she'd been taught to read and write, and other things people might learn in school, but she couldn't even cook for herself. She was pretty much useless at taking care of herself, but perhaps that was by design. The scientists didn't want the experiments to get far if they escaped.

"I'll show you," Dabi said, taking her hand and helping her up from the rock, "Eri, wanna help?"

The girl nodded, and hurried over as Toga went off in the direction of civilization. She looked up at Shouko and Touya, eyes wide and trusting. Shigaraki, meanwhile, was examining the ground around the clearing. He seemed to be off in his own world.

"Okay, you're gonna want to find small bits of wood. Little twigs, first. Small stuff," He went on to explain the different sizes of sticks and branches they would need, and how much of it. Eri seemed a little confused, but Shouko squeezed her hand. She turned to Touya, and pointed to herself, then Eri, then the woods.

"You two are gonna go together?" Touya asked. Shouko nodded. Touya then turned to Eri, "Just shout for me if ya need help."

Eri nodded, and Shouko gave a thumbs up. Touya began to look for fire wood, fallen branches and the like. Shouko walked with Eri as they searched for smaller stuff, twigs and small sticks that would catch first. Shouko made sure to keep close to Eri, and kept listening for any danger. Every so often, Shouko would look up and glance around, making sure nobody had snuck up on them. However, she kept looking up at the noises of the forest, and wondered if she was just being paranoid. Shouko picked up a few larger branches as well. She was pretty sure they could use those for their fire, even if Touya was getting some too. They needed warmth all night, didn't they?

Shouko watched as Eri sought out the twigs. The bandages on her arms seemed clean, but maybe there was gauze underneath. If she had injuries, they'd have to take care of those, so they wouldn't get infected. Shouko would have to figure out a way to ask Touya if they could get medical supplies. How, unfortunately, was another matter. Maybe Toga had some tricks under her sleeve, like how she was sneaking in to get blankets for them.

"Hey... Um... Miss Shouko?" Eri suddenly asked. Shouko tilted her head as she looked at her. Eri pointed towards a brown mushroom, growing at the base of an oak tree. The way the pieces grew almost looked like a flower... Almost. Shouko looked closer, "Is that... Edible?"

Shouko blinked, but then shrugged. She had no idea, but they should probably leave it alone, as pretty as it was. She nudged Eri away from it, and gestured to the sticks in Eri's hands.

"Is it poisonous?" Shouko shrugged again. She didn't know how else to tell her that just because they didn't know, didn't mean they should eat it. But Eri seemed smart enough not to eat it and find out. They continued along the way, and every once in a while, they spotted more mushrooms that looked similar, all at the bases of oak trees. A scientist from the lab would likely know, but Shouko wasn't about to fly back and ask. She was starting to feel sore, her wings having never been used for that long, even during a test.

Eri then stopped walking, and Shouko tensed, quickly glancing around as she got closer to Eri. Had she seen something? Something bad? That was when she noticed the small patch of pink cosmos flowers. Eri looked up at Shouko.

"They're pretty..." She said, before looking at the flowers again. Shouko nodded, and even she would admit the flowers were pretty. If asked, anyway. Shouko then had an idea. She set down the sticks she'd been carrying and approached the patch. She picked one flower and walked back to Eri. Crouching down, Shouko carefully placed the flower in Eri's hair by her ear. Eri blinked, almost confused, then faintly smiled. Shouko smiled in return, then went to pick up her bundle of sticks again. Holding it in one arm, she reached out and took Eri's hand so they could head back.

Once they reached the place they'd landed, they saw that Touya was there, but Shigaraki was missing. Shouko raised an eyebrow quizzically.

"Shigaraki went to find food," Touya said. His hands were covered in dirt, particularly his fingers. It seemed he'd dug a shallow hole, and placed small rocks around it as a fire pit. He gestured them over, "Looks like you got enough sticks. C'mere."

Shouko approached, and Eri crouched by the pit beside her. Touya took some of the smaller sticks and began to arrange them like a pyramid.

"The small ones need to catch first," Touya explained, "And we keep building up them with larger pieces. Just make sure there's enough room for oxygen to get to the fire, don't crowd it."

As they built the fire, Shouko heard a rustling in the woods nearby. She stood, and tapped Touya's shoulder before carefully picking her way through the trees to see who was there. However, as she got closer, she realized it was just Toga, walking through the woods with a number of quilts, that looked like they'd been taken from some place nice. They were clean, looked almost new.

"Hey~" Toga smiled, "Nobody even noticed me, and I just walked through the front door." She brought the blankets over and set them on the large rock.

Shouko frowned, trying to figure out if that was figurative language or not. But asking seemed impossible without a pen and paper. Shouko walked back to the fire, where it seemed to be ready to light. She looked towards Touya, and he gave an encouraging nod. Shouko reached with her left hand, and ignited a small flame on her fingertip. She held it there until the tinder and kindling had caught. She pulled her hand back, and shook it lightly. Her fingers felt a little warm, but luckily, the flames would have to be burning for much longer to hurt her.

"I'll set up our beds," Toga said, starting to arrange the stolen quilts around the campfire. There were two 'beds' she'd set up, on either side of the fire. Toga stepped back to look over the beds, which were just two quilts on top of each other each. Not that any of them would complain, it was better to sleep on the ground free, than on a cot or concrete inside, "This ones for us girls, that one's for you and Shiggy."

"What? Hell no, I'm not sleeping next to him," Touya narrowed his eyes, "I don't wanna get killed if he rolls over and touches me."

"Ugh, I can't go back! The lady I impersonated is probably awake by now!"

"Whatever, I don't need blankets anyway," Touya said, "I'm warm enough as is."

Toga frowned, then grabbed a blanket off the bed for the boys, and tossed it at Touya.

"At least wrap this around yourself. Shiggy can fold his in half."

Touya raised an eyebrow, but didn't argue. He set the blanket on a nearby large rock. Shouko remained by the fire, and turned her attention back towards it, watching as the flames licked away at the wood. Eri leaned against her, and Shouko glanced over. The girl seemed tired, really tired. Shouko picked her up and carried her over to the girls blankets. She put her under the covers, and tucked her in. However, as Eri looked up at her, Shouko realized she didn't want to be alone. She got under the blankets with her, and ignored the bumpy ground beneath her as she got settled against her.

Eri turned to face Shouko, and pressed up against her. Hesitantly, Shouko put an arm around her, trying to be comforting. They'd had a long night. It'd probably be another long one when they woke up. Day or night, didn't matter. But they'd probably have to get far away, somewhere with way less people. Somewhere it'd be much harder to be found if someone decided to go on a hike.

Eri was sleeping in in Shouko's arms within minutes.


	3. Chapter 3

_Running_. _She had to keep running. The moment she stood still or tried to slow down, the collar around her neck delivered a painful shock. She'd been running for hours, with small breaks in between as they set up the maze through some computer_ _algorithm. Her small limbs ached, her lungs burned, but she kept running. She knew if she fell, they'd shock her until she got up. If she failed then, she didn't know what would be happen, but it would be bad. Shouko wove through the labyrinth, trying desperately to figure out where the exit was, but she kept running into dead ends. How had she been good at this before?_

_Maybe because before, she hadn't been running for about eight hours._

_Shouko's brain was starting to get fuzzy. She couldn't remember which way she'd gone before. She kept running, hoping she'd find the exit by dumb chance. She knew if she tried anything funny and tried to fly, she'd get shocked and then worse... Not that it mattered. They'd clipped her wings that day to prevent anything of the sort happening._

Run... Just keep going!

_Her vision was starting to blur, and she could feel herself slowing down. The beeping of the collar, a warning, sounded. She couldn't go any faster, but it shocked her anyway. She staggered and collapsed on the floor, and it shocked her again, harder, making her brain feel fried. She tried to get up, but she was shaking. Again, Shouko collapsed to the floor, and again, she was shocked. Again. And again._

_"It was so close that time," Shouko heard as the shocks died down. She was tired... So tired... She just wanted to close her eyes and never wake up, "Next time, we'll have a few erasers follow her in. That will motivate her."_

_Shouko couldn't give more than a faint moan of pain and fear at the idea, as all the maze walls receded into the floor, and a tall man who shared her surname approached and reached to pick her up._

Shouko awoke in a cold sweat, alone in the makeshift bed on the forest floor. Her headache was gone, but her body was sore from the night on rocks. She sat up, and saw the others seated around the fire, eating onigiri. Eri was seated close to Toga. The light of the fire reflected off the cuffs the child refused to take off. Shouko got out of blankets after wiping the sweat off her face and walked over. Touya looked up, and gestured her over. As Shouko sat beside him, Touya passed her a plastic bag, full of onigiri.

"Shigaraki broke into a convenience store last night," Touya explained. However, his eyes caught on her face, and he frowned, "You look like shit. Couldn't sleep?"

Shouko shrugged. She signed 'nightmare,' though she wasn't sure he'd understand. She then reached into the bag, and didn't realize how hungry she was until she pulled out an ume centered onigiri. She set the bag down, and carefully peeled back the plastic wrapping before taking a bite. This was nothing like the food in the labs, bland, unappetizing foods that were supposed to keep them healthy, but Shouko really had no idea what they were. Onigiri, however, had been a special treat. If you were good, you got one. Sometimes. Sometimes, Shouko knew her father would try to bribe her with them, food that actually tasted like something. As much as she'd hate to admit it, it worked, and she'd played nice just to get a bite.

"We should head south," Shigaraki said, "It's nearing fall." Shouko noticed he'd pulled his messy pale hair back into a ponytail, "I'm thinking Kyoto. Lots of mountains, places to hide."

"There are mountains everywhere," Touya said, "And it's not that far south."

"I'm not flying all the way to Okinawa, Dabi," Shigaraki narrowed his eyes.

"Who said Okinawa? We need to be away from people, not at a tourist attraction," Touya glared back.

"Why don't we just fly till we find a place that looks nice?" Toga said, crumpling up the plastic wrapping from the onigiri and reaching over to put it in the bag, "It's not like they know which direction we went... Besides, I wanna go somewhere nice... We should go to Tokyo!"

"Too many people," Dabi said.

"But we can hide our wings," Toga insisted, "And that way, they'll be so many people, nobody can find us."

"Tokyo's too close," Shigaraki said, "But a city does sound like a good place to try blending in. Maybe somewhere with a few parks where we can take off if things look bad..." He said, "Besides... There's another lab in Tokyo. Dunno where it is, but they're high security, according to your old man," He looked towards Touya and Shouko, "Not that there aren't things I want to look for there, but it's too dangerous right now."

"Kyoto's got pretty shrines," Toga shrugged, "And I've always wanted to see all those castles."

"Hey, pipsqueak, any ideas?" Shigaraki suddenly looked at Shouko, who blinked, "You're one of the safer ones. You must've gotten further in your education than us, where do you think is safe?" It felt like he was trying to challenge her, trying to get her to look stupid or useless. Shouko thought back, but she didn't exactly know more about different places than they seemed to.

She signed 'Kyoto.' It seemed like the best option to her, anyway.

"What are you, dumb?" Shigaraki asked, seeming annoyed.

"Knock it off, creep," Touya suddenly spoke up, "And she was agreeing with you about Kyoto."

Shouko put her hand on Touya's shoulder, trying to tell him she wasn't bothered. But that message seemed to be completely lost, since he was still exchanging glares with Shigaraki.

"I wanna go there and get tasty snacks. Like konpeito and dango!" Toga said, "What about you, Eri?"

"Um..." Eri didn't seem to have thought Toga would ask her, and she shifted some. She looked down at the half eaten onigiri in her hand, "Are there apples?" She asked quietly, chancing a look up at Toga.

"Um... Probably. Apples grow in lots of places." Toga shrugged, "Let's look for some when we're there! Just us girls." She smiled brightly, "Right, Shou?"

Shouko at the odd nickname, but nodded.

"Well... We can look for a map in town," Toga said, "Places like these get lots of tourists, right?"

"Hell if I know," Shigaraki said, "You're the one who impersonated scientists to watch TV."

Shouko raised an eyebrow, and looked between the two.

"My quirk," Toga explained, "I can turn into anyone, provided I've eaten their blood." She grinned a cheshire grin. Shoko realized that would be pretty useful, since they had to lay low. But Toga randomly stabbing people on the street might cause a scene, and also wouldn't be ideal. Maybe they could sneak into a blood bank or something.

"Well, we should probably head out before people wander in on us," Touya said, gathering all the trash and putting it back in the plastic bag. All the onigiri had bean eaten up by the five of them, "Think we can carry these?" He looked towards the blankets spread about their camp site.

"Doubt it," Shigaraki said, "Arms would get tired, better leave 'em."

"I'll bring them back," Toga said, standing up.

"No way, you'll get spotted," Touya said, "We can just... I dunno, put them by the side of the road?"

"I'll help," Eri said, before looking up at Toga, who smiled in return, "Shouko, come with us?"

Shouko nodded, and stood. The three of them gathered up the blankets, and Shouko made a shabby attempt to fold the blanket. Unfortunately, it was pretty messy, but Shouko would still be able to carry it. Besides, whoever picked them up probably wouldn't be expecting them expertly folded.

As they walked in the direction of civilization, Toga hummed a tune. It was vaguely familiar, but Shouko couldn't put a finger on where she'd heard it before. The echoes of the nightmare repeated in her brain, being forced to run, being shocked... But that was gone now. If they managed to stay free, none of them would ever have to be tested like that again.

"Is there a difference between red and green apples?" Eri asked.

"Well..." Toga considered, "I think there are more kinds than that... And all of them taste different." She said, "I saw it on TV. There was a news story about apple farmers."

"Really?" Eri perked up.

"Pretty sure," Toga said, "We can try every kind some day. And pick which ones are our favorites. I think there are even ones with candy on the outside!"

"Candy?"

"It's made from sugar and other stuff, and is really sweet," Toga explained, "I've never had it, but I wanna try it."

"I wanna try it too," Eri said, looking down at the blanket she was carrying, then looking ahead.

Several minutes later, they reached a road leading up towards the town. They set down the blankets at the side, then quickly made their way back towards the clearing where they'd camped. Toga told them about all the things she'd seen about Kyoto on TV, and then about some dramas she'd caught minutes of before the scientists found out what she was up to and put her back in her cell. Shouko listened, for a moment wishing she could add to the conversation, ask questions like Eri was, but...

She couldn't do that anymore. It would hurt too much. She didn't even know if it was possible for her at this point. Had she forgotten how to form words, or did she just not do it because of the pain associated with it? Shouko had been silent for so long, she wasn't sure anymore.

Maybe she could try... But she didn't trust herself. And she was still afraid.

They reached the clearing, where the fire had been put out, and the stones had been scattered. Touya had tried to make it look like they hadn't been there, having covered the fire pit with dirt. Still, some ashes were scattered about. Shigaraki was nowhere to be seen. As Touya spotted them, he waved them over.

"Shigaraki went to find a map," Touya said, "Course, he's gotta be careful since he looks like he just ran away from an insane asylum."

"We all look like we just ran away from an insane asylum," Toga said, "When do we get new clothes?"

"When we find clothes in a ditch or an opportunity to steal some," Touya sighed, "Look, our priority is staying hidden, it's not like we're gonna make a habit of walking the streets."

"These clothes smell like sweat and smoke," Toga said, "And they're dirty..."

"Yeah, yeah, well... Maybe we'll find a river or something. You can wash your clothes there."

"Rivers are gross and full of mud..." Toga grumbled.

Touya rolled his eyes but said nothing. He looked towards Eri and Shouko.

"How're you two holding up?" He asked.

"I'm excited to go to Kyoto," Eri said, "And try all the apples." Shouko gave a thumbs up to tell him she was okay.

"Apples, huh? I'll bet they taste better out here than in the lab," His voice seemed softer with Shouko and Eri than with the other two. More... Kind, rather than annoyed or salty.

"Toga said there are lots of kinds of apples, I want to try all of them," Eri said.

Touya reached out and patted her hair, careful around the horn on her head. He then glanced up as footsteps were heard, and Shigaraki returned to the clearing, a pamphlet in his hand. He unfolded it on a large rock, and gestured them over to look at the map.

"Here's where we are now." He pointed to a place on the southern edge of the Tokyo prefecture, "Kyoto's not far away." He said, "Flying should take five hours, but that's without breaks." Shouko gave a nod, and peered at the map too. Kyoto was much closer than she'd thought. Japan, it seemed, was also much bigger than she'd thought. But her whole world had been small in the lab, and even though she'd had an education (albeit an unusual one), she still didn't know much about the world.

"Okay. Let's get going," Touya said, "I'll carry Eri."

* * *

Seven hours later, they landed a little ways away from a shrine on a mountain. Not many other buildings were nearby, and it was late into the night. Eri was fast asleep in Touya's arms, having fallen that way on the flight. They'd taken several breaks during the flight, but they'd finally reached the mountains outside of Kyoto. Shouko tucked her wings back under her clothes through the slits, and glanced around at the others. She wondered if they'd have to steal blankets again.

"We should've brought the blankets..." Toga said.

"Carrying those would've been a pain," Dabi shrugged, "Think there are any inns nearby?"

"No, just this shrine," Shigaraki said, "That's why I picked this place, it's far away from people."

"Guess we're sleeping on the ground," Dabi sighed, "Shouko, can you handle the fire tonight?"

Shouko nodded, and began to search for twigs. She began to get further away from the camp as she collected, but tried to stay within sight. She didn't want to get lost, and calling for help if she got lost would be painful. Collecting sticks was repetitive, but somehow, it was calming. A simple task, and though she was tired, it was easy enough that she wasn't struggling.

The others were conversing by the camp, and Shouko caught a few words every once in a while. She wasn't fully paying attention, however, until she heard Shigaraki speak up.

"Dabi, why do you insist on keeping her around?"

Shouko didn't stop gathering fire wood, but listened harder, trying to make her footsteps more quiet.

"What, do you have a problem with her?" Her brother replied, his tone even.

"She's your old man's pride and joy," Shigaraki said, "He's gonna want her back."

"And we're some of his most dangerous subjects. He wants us back too."

Shigaraki huffed.

"She's gonna be a liability. She can't speak, she won't kill... She wouldn't survive a day alone."

"Then I guess she's gonna have to stay with is, isn't she?" Dabi sounded irritated.

"She's lucky you're her brother. Otherwise she'd already be dead."

There was silence, and Shouko paused in her work.

"Shigaraki... If you put a finger on her, you'll lose a hand. Or two."

Shouko shivered at the ice in her brother's tone. However, Shigaraki had a point. She couldn't communicate, and if she left their enemies alive, they could come back and capture them. Maybe even kill them. But Shouko didn't know if she had it in her to take another sapient being's life. Even if she had to, she wasn't sure she could do it. Even if that person had tortured her for years on end.

Perhaps that made her weak.

Shigaraki was right. She wouldn't be able to survive alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think in the comments.


	4. Update

I'm going to be rewriting this, I figured out a better way to start it. I'll be leaving this story up until I replace it. Thanks for sticking around!


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